In Ukraine, police officers draw up a report against drivers for drunken driving. However, they do it in a cunning way that you should know about.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the YouTube channel of lawyer Roman Simutin.
What you should know
The expert says that sometimes police officers tell drivers to move their car so as not to interfere with other road users or “move from here to that parking pocket over there.”
However, when you get behind the wheel, the police turn on the body camera and record the fact that you are driving a car, so that they can draw up a report for “drunkenness.”
Example situation
According to the lawyer, the man was standing near a car parked next to his yard. In the evening, a patrol car pulled up and demanded to see my documents.
“The man happened to be law-abiding: he got behind the wheel, took out his technical passport and driver’s license and gave them to the policeman. Within a minute, the policeman asked him: “You smell like alcohol, you’ve been drinking. Will you pass the Drager test?” – Simutin says.
The man was confused and began to make excuses for not using. However, the policeman asked him to move the car so as not to interfere with other road users.
So the man got behind the wheel and moved the car. Then he was offered a second alcohol test. The man said that why should he be tested if he did not drive the car at all.
However, law enforcement officers had already recorded the fact that the driver was moving the car.
Therefore, the police drew up a report for refusing to undergo the test, took away the driver’s license, and sent the case to court.
How we managed to win the case
The lawyer said he won the trial and proved that it was a provocation. In particular, they requested the full video from the police, not the cropped part that was included in the case file.
“And if you think this is an isolated case, I assure you that it is not,” the expert said.
In particular, another incident occurred after the curfew began, and the company was standing near a parked car near the entrance. The patrol legally checked their documents and asked them what they were doing here.
When they found out that the owner of the car, who lived nearby, was also present, they asked him to move the car to a parking space and filmed the whole thing.
As a result, a report was drawn up against the driver without any basis.
What to do in this situation
If you find yourself in a similar situation, the lawyer advises you to take the following steps:
- demand to turn on the body camera and immediately report that you were not driving
- ask for an explanation of the reason for checking the documents and never hand them over to them, because you will not take them back later
- if they are going to draw up a protocol, then do not give the documents, but report the violation to 102 and call another crew and a shift supervisor
- If this does not help and the report is still drawn up, then do not do what most people do and refuse to sign, but write the phrase in the explanation: “I was not driving the car.” The lawyer says that the case will definitely fall apart in court without evidence of your stop, but with your explanation in the protocol and the recorded call to 102
